Heat exchanger convector



June 3, 1969 J c MCNABNEY 3,447,597

HEAT EXCHANGER CONVECTOR Filed Dec. 4. 1967 Sheet of 2 Fl G. I FIG. 2

FIG. 3 34 FIG. 5

\N. Guam 72 60 FIG. 4

1 as 62 2 68 7O 56 64 INVENTOR. 58 I 60 72 7 JOHN c. MCNABNEY BY cmwwzw;

ATTORNEY June 3, 1969 J. c. M NABNEY HEAT EXCHANGER CONVECTOR SheetFiled Dec. 4, 1967 FIG.

FIG.

FIG.

FIG. 9

INVENTOR. JOHN C. -MC NABNEY BY W ATTORNEY United States Patent US. Cl.165-55 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A baseboard convector havingtubular heat exchanger element provided with a plurality of parallelspaced rectangular air contacting fins wherein tabs struck from eachcomer thereof extend between the fins to form columns merely at thecorners thereof for supporting the fins with minimum obstruction to airflowing around said tubular element. The heat exchanger element and finsare supported for sliding movement upon a bracket via a plastic cradlewhich is attached to the fin tabs. An optional damper mountingarrangement permits the use of either an infinitely adjustable or merelya two position damper for controlling the convection air cur rent overthe heat exchanger.

Background of the invention The present invention relates to heatexchangers employing an elongated heat exchanger element such as a tubefor conducting either a hot or cold heat exchange fluid. A plurality offins, in the [form of very thin rec tangular aluminum plates having acentral aperture, are mounted via said apertures in parallelrelationship spaced longitudinally on the heat exchanger element forconducting heat between surrounding air and said elongated element. Thecorners of the fins are provided with tabs which extend to and abutadjacent time for providing interfin support. When temperature changesin the heat exchanger element occur, it is well known that the heatexchanger element length will change with these changes in temperature.For this reason it is now common practice to support such heatexchangers for sliding movement in the support area. To this end,various types of nonmetallic guides have been devised to slidablysupport the fin matrix on a support bracket which will permit the heatexchanger element to expand with little or no expansion noise.

Summary of the invention The instant invention involves a particularplastic cradle for slidably supporting the fin matrix. This cradle maybe formed from a single pressure molding with a minimum of material andsecurely latched onto the fin matrix. The cradle support of the instantinvention is particularly adapted to be simply and easily connected tothe aforementioned fin tabs. The particular cradle support presents aminimum obstruction to air flowing over the fins and is not easilydisconnected from the fins during transport and handling of the heatexchanger. Because the cradle may be formed from a single pressuremolding it may be manufactured in large numbers at low cost.

Particularly this invention involves an elongated heat exchangerelement; a plurality of generally rectangular fins spaced longitudinallyon said element; said fin having a tab at the corners thereof extendingbetween adjacent pairs of fins for maintaining relative spacingtherebetween; a plastic slide member adapted to slide on a frame forrelative movement therewith in the direction longitudinally of saidelement; and means connecting said tab to said plastic slide member.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent as this specificationproceeds to describe the invention in detail with reference to theaccompanying darwings wherein like elements have been designated by likenumerals throughout and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a transverse vertical section of a baseboard convectorincorporating the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a front elevational view of a portion of the baseboard unitof FIGURE 1 with the lower portion of the front cover face removed todisclose the heat exchanger and the novel means for supporting the same;

FIGURE 3 is a plane view of the plastic cradle used in supporting theheat exchanger shown in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a front elevation of the cradle element shown in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary section of the cradle element takenat line 5-5 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged detail view of a portion of the heat exchangerfin as indicated at line 6-6 of FIG- URE 2;

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged fragmentary section of the heat exchanger andcradle support taken at line 7-7 in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged View similar to FIGURE 1 showing the baseboarddamper and adjustment means therefor;

FIGURE 9 is a perspective of a spring clip used to support the baseboarddamper zfor infinite adjustment; and

FIGURE 10 is a view similar to FlGU-RE 8 showing an alternative damperadjustment means for the damper thereof.

Now referring to the drawing it will be seen that baseboard convector 10includes a main body member 12 having vertical rear plate 14- which maybe fastened with screws (not shown) or other appropriated means alongthe foot of a wall in abutting relationship therewith. Main body member12 has a leg 16 extending from the upper edge of plate 14 horizontallyoutward from the wall and terminating with a downwardly extending upperflange 18. The lower margin of rear plate 14 is turned outwardly fromthe wall and terminates with an upwardly projecting lower flange 20. 'Itwill be appreciated that main body member 12 including plate 14, leg 16and flanges 18 and 20 extend in the horizontal direction the full lengthof the baseboard convector. Only a short segment of this length is shownin FIGURE 2.

Spaced longitudinally along the main body 12 are a plurality of mainsupport brackets 22. For purposes of illustration only one such bracketis shown. Bracket 22 has a mounting portion in the form of a verticallyextending strip 24 abutting in falce-to-face relationship with the frontside of rear plate 14. The upper and lower portions of strip 24 areangled outwardly from the wall to be resiliently received respectivelywithin the bight areas formed by flanges 18 and 20. Since strip 22 islocked in position only by its configuration with respect to that ofmain body 12 and pressure exerted by the resiliency of these members, itwill be readily appreciated that bracket 22 may be positioned or removedas desired simply by flexing these members.

Bracket 22 has an upper support leg 26 and a lower support leg 28 eachof which is rooted at a vertical edge of strip 22. Each of legs 26 and28 lie in a vertical plane to offer minimum resistance to vertical airmovement through the baseboard convector. The upper edge of lower leg 28is provided with a horizontally extending flange 30 the upper surface ofwhich forms a platform upon which the convector heat exchanger element32 is slidably supported via plastic cradle 34. The forward portion offlange 30 terminates in a flange 36 having an inverted U-shaped crosssection.

Upper leg 26 has at its terminal end an upwardly extending protuberance38. The baseboard convector 10 has a front closing panel 40 whichextends the length thereof. The upper edge of panel 40 is provided withan inverted U-shaped flange 42 which overlies and engages protuberance38 of each of brackets 22. The lower edge of panel 40 is provided with aV-shaped flange 44 which engages the forward leg of flange 36 of eachbracket 22. Thus front closing panel 40 is effectively locked inposition by flanges 36 and protuberances 38 of brackets 22. Removal ofpanel 40 may be accomplished simply by flexing the bracket members.

Referring now to the heat exchanger 32 it will be seen that said heatexchanger includes an elongated tubular element 46 extendinglongitudinally of the convector 10. A plurality of planar parallelspaced fins 48 of generally rectangular configuration are mounted innormal relationship along tube 46 via fin collars 50. A tab 52 has beenslit and struck from .the corner of each fin thereby forming a step inthe upper and lower edges of the fin at the corners thereof. Tabs 52extend from the vertical extent of said steps normally toward anadjacent fin in contiguous relationship therewith. The terminal portionof each tab 52 is provided with a narrow flange 54 in face-to-faceabutting relationship to the adjacent fin (FIGURE 6). The overallstrength and resistance to damage during handling of the heat exchangerelement 32 is improved by this intersupporting relationship of the fins.It should be appreciated that the tabs 52 are aligned as to define acontinuous support column at each corner of the fin matrix. These tabsdo not restrict the air flow at the sides of the fins in the areasdesignated by numeral 55.

Referring now to the heat exchanger cradle support as illustrated inFIGURES 3, 4, and 7 it will be seen that cradle 34 includes a frontportion 56 and a rear portion 58. These portions are identical anddescription of the front portion will apply equally to the rear portion.Front portion 56 includes an elongated horizontally extending bar 60 ofgenerally rectangular cross section and adapted to slide longitudinallyon the upper side of :bracket flange 30. Spaced longitudinally of bar 60and located adjacent one side thereof are two upstanding rigid columns62. A second bar 64 extending in parallel relation to bar 60 isconnected to the other side of bar 60 via an integrally molded hinge 66.Extending transversely from the side of bar 64 remote from hinge 66 is apair of pawls 68 which are longitudinally coextensive with columns 62.Each pawl 68 is so formed as to latch into place over the upper end of acolumn 62 when bar 64 is pivoted with respect 'to bar 60 at hinge 66thereby leaving a space 70 (FIGURES 4, 5 and 7) encompassed by column62, bar 60, bar 64 and pawl 68. For purposes of illustration, FIGURES 3and 4 show the front portion of cradle 34 in the latched position andthe rear portion in the unlatched position. The front and rear portionsare interconnected by Webs 72 which extend between respective columns 62of the front and rear portions. All the elements of cradle 34 includinghinges 66 are pressure molded as an integral unit.

Cradle 34 is fitted to the underside of the heat exchanger 32. The bar64 and pawl 68 are pivoted from an unlatched position to a latchedposition entrapping several of tabs 52 within spaces 70 (see FIGURE 7)whereby cradle 34 is held on heat exchanger 32. It will be noted thatthe width and spacing of pawls 68, columns 62 and webs 72 is such as topermit these portions of the cradle to be interposed between fins 48.The cradle will not become detached during handling and installation ofthe heat exchanger.

During operation, the underside of cradle bars 60 presents a smooth lowfriction surface for sliding on bracket flanges 30 to accommodate thewell known longitudinal expansion and contraction of the heat exchangerelement in a noiseless manner. Transverse movement of the heat exchangermay be contained by the abutment of the front and rear sides of thecradle 34 against U-shaped flange 36 and a vertically extending raisedrib 74 in strip 24 respectively as shown in FIGURE 1.

Referring now to FIGURES l, 2, 8, 9 and 10 it will be seen that theupper support leg 26 of bracket 22 has an upwardly extendingprotuberance 76 on the upper side intermediate the ends thereof.Protuberance 76 has a flat upwardly forwardly inclined rear edge 78 anda downwardly forwardly inclined front edge 80. Protuberance 76 has athrough-going circular aperture 82.

The elongated space between upper flange 18 and U- shaped flange 42constitutes the air discharge outlet for the baseboard convector 10. Theamount of air passing through this space is controlled by an elongateddamper 84 arranged within this discharge outlet. The longitudinal edgesof damper 84 are each provided with U-shaped flanges 86 and 88.

The damper 84 as shown in FIGURES 1 and 8 is supported by a spring clip90. Spring clip 90 has a central loop portion 92 the terminal ends 94and 96 of which are retained within the U-shaped flanges 86 and 88respectively. By simply compressing the loop 92, clip 90 may be insertedor removed from its position within the flanges 86 and 88 of damper 84.The central loop portion has a U-shaped ear 98 which extends in a planenormal to damper 84. One leg of the U-shaped ear 98 has a project ment100 extending toward the other leg and is received in aperture 82 whenprotuberance 76 is received in the bight portion of ear 98. Clip 90 andthus damper 84 may accordingly be manually pivoted at projectment 100 inaperture 82. The resilient legs of U-shaped ear 98 exert suflicientfrictional pressure of protuberance 76 to hold damper 84 in any positionto which it may be adjusted. The dash-dot-dot line position of damper 84in FIGURE 8 is merely one of an infinite number of adjusted positions.

FIGURE 10 shows a modified alternative damper arrangement. Damper 84 isthe same as that shown in FIGURE 8; however, spring clip 90 is notincluded. Damper 84 of FIGURE 10 may be alternatively positioned in thewide open position resting by gravitational force on edge 78 ofprotuberance 76 as shown in dashdot-dot line (FIGURE 10) or in theclosed position resting by gravitational force on edge of protuberance76 as shown in full line. Thus, because protuberance 76 is provided withpivot center aperture 82 between inclined edges 78 and 80, it may beutilized in the alternative to support a two position damper or aninfinitely adjustable damper, whichever the consumer may prefer.

Having now described in detail the preferred embodiments of theinvention, it is contemplated that many changes may be made withoutdeparting from the scope or spirit of the invention which is limitedonly by the claims.

I claim:

1. A heat exchanger apparatus comprising in combination: an elongatedheat exchanger element; a plurality of generally rectangular fins spacedlongitudinally on said element; said fins having a tab at the cornersthereof extending between adjacent pairs of fins for maintainingrelative spacing therebetween; a plastic slide member adapted to slideon a bracket for relative movement therewith in the directionlongitudinally of said element; and means connecting at least one ofsaid tabs to said plastic slide member.

2. The apparatus as defined by claim 1 wherein said connecting means isan annulus circumscribing one of said tabs.

3. The apparatus as defined by claim 1 wherein said connecting means isan annulus extending between adjacent pairs of said fins, extendingbetween said element and said tab, and circumscribing said tab.

4. The apparatus as defined by claim 1 wherein said connecting meansincludes a hinge.

5. The apparatus as defined by claim 4 wherein said hinge and said slidemember are an integral plastic mold- 111g.

6. The apparatus as defined by claim 1 wherein said connecting meansincludes a hinge and latch for locking said connecting means on saidtab.

7. A heat exchanger apparatus comprising in combination: an elongatedtube; a plurality of fins spaced longitudinally on said tube; said finshaving a tab at the corners thereof extending between adjacent pairs offins for maintaining relative spacing therebetween; and a plastic cradlefor slidably supporting said fins on a support bracket, said cradlecomprising: a slide portion for sliding on a bracket; an upstandingcolumn extending from said slide portion; and a pawl pivotally connectedto said slide portion and arranged to interferingly engage a portion ofsaid column upon pivotal movement of said pawl toward said column;whereby said column, said slide portion, and said pawl may be connectedto form an annulus about said tab for holding said slide portion on saidfin tab.

8. A heat exchanger apparatus comprising in combination: an elongatedtube; a plurality of fins spaced longitudinally on said tube; said finshaving a tab at the corners thereof extending between adjacent pairs offins for maintaining relative spacing therebetween; and a plastic cradlefor slidably supporting said fins on a support bracket, said cradlecomprising a pair of slide bars adapted to slide on the surface of abracket; each slide bar having a pair of upstanding columns extendingfrom said slide bars; a second bar pivotally connected to each of saidslide bars and extending longitudinally of said tube; a pair of spacedwebs connecting said slide bars, and a pair of pawls connected to eachof said second bars arranged to interferingly engage said columns uponpivotal movement of said second bars toward said columns whereby saidcolumns, said slide bars, said second bars and said pawls may beconnected to form a plurality of annuli circumscribing said tabs forholding said cradle to said fin tabs.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 5/1966 Person et a1. 16555 8/1966Sinclair l--55 US. Cl. X.R.

